Caution: Web-Traffic Patrol

The ubiquitous nature of the Internet is one of its defining characteristics — that is, unless you’re in Thailand.

According to a recent CNN article , the government of the Far East country is planning to create a massive Internet firewall that would essentially block certain Web sites — a functionality that is expected to cost somewhere between $2.9 million to $14.6 million.

On the chopping block are pornographic sites, sites that are offensive to Thailand’s royal family, terrorism-related sites and others that are deemed to have inappropriate content. In fact, some of these sites have already been blocked, but the intention is to make the process more systematic.

What do you think about the enforcement of censorship on the Internet? Should some have the power to monitor or block certain sites, or should the regulation of the Internet be up to the individual?